In 1848 a small worker's dwelling was constructed near the first New Zealand Company settlement in Petone (Pito-one). Now know as 'Collett House', the structure has become a symbol of Pakeha settlement in the Wellington region.
Petone was the site initially chosen for the settlement of Wellington by New Zealand Company surveyor William Mein Smith (1799-1869). Smith's employer, Colonel William Hayward Wakefield (1801-1848), landed in Petone in 1839 and began negotiating with Maori to obtain land for British settlers. However, shortly after the first six ships filled with British emigrants arrived in 1840, the exposed nature of the Petone site prompted the removal of the settlement to Thorndon.
Petone was the first New Zealand Company settlement in New Zealand and Collett House is Petone's oldest identified residential building. The dwelling was named after, and constructed by English settlers Henry and Eliza Collett. The Colletts arrived in Wellington on the ship London in 1841. After setting up a carpentry business in Te Aro, the couple moved to Petone in 1847. Henry Collett established himself as a wheelwright, servicing carts and coaches travelling on the main road leading north from Wellington. By 1848 the Colletts had constructed a simple four roomed, two-storey dwelling from pitsawn weatherboards on land adjacent to the road. In the garden around the house they planted two roses brought from England, 'Captain Blood', and 'Devon Cream'.
By 1852, the Colletts were one of just six settler families living in Petone. They received an official Crown Grant for their land in 1853. They raised their ten children in the small timber dwelling and at some stage extended the verandah and added two large rooms to the ground floor of the original cottage. From 1887 Henry Collett began sub-dividing sections of the land around the cottage for his children. Eight years later, in 1895, the cottage was transferred to Collett's unmarried daughter Mary Jane Collett, who remained in the house until her death in 1917. The house was transferred to Mabel Jane Evans (nee Collett) who had celebrated her wedding in the house in 1901.
In 1945 the original floorboards of the cottage were replaced when guests celebrating the end of the Second World War at a victory party danced right through the floor. Mabel Evans remained in the house until 1948 when she moved into a small, self-contained flat on the property that had originally served as a garage. Doris and Robert Leslie, who were friends of the Colletts, moved into Collett House in the same year and added a then fashionable bungalow style roof to the cottage. Mabel Evans (nee Collett) moved into the Leslie's self-contained flat at number 34 Riddler's Crescent. The Leslies remained owners of the cottage until 1996, when the house was placed on the open market for the first time. The house has since been inhabited by a number of owners who have re-piled and renovated the cottage and the remnants of the original garden that remain around Collett House.
Collett House is historically significant as the oldest identified residential property in Petone. Constructed in the town selected as the site of the first New Zealand Company settlement, the cottage provides insight into early Pakeha settlement in New Zealand. The house retains some of its original character and is physically significant for the insight it provides into early colonial building techniques. The additions made to the building represent the changes prompted by the development Pakeha settlement and enhance its symbolic value. Collett House is in good condition and is held in high esteem by the local community.
Petone was the site initially chosen for the settlement of Wellington by New Zealand Company surveyor William Mein Smith (1799-1869). Smith's employer, Colonel William Hayward Wakefield (1801-1848), landed in Petone in 1839 and began negotiating with Maori to obtain land for British settlers. However, shortly after the first six ships filled with British emigrants arrived in 1840, the exposed nature of the Petone site prompted the removal of the settlement to Thorndon.
Petone was the first New Zealand Company settlement in New Zealand and Collett House is Petone's oldest identified residential building. The dwelling was named after, and constructed by English settlers Henry and Eliza Collett. The Colletts arrived in Wellington on the ship London in 1841. After setting up a carpentry business in Te Aro, the couple moved to Petone in 1847. Henry Collett established himself as a wheelwright, servicing carts and coaches travelling on the main road leading north from Wellington. By 1848 the Colletts had constructed a simple four roomed, two-storey dwelling from pitsawn weatherboards on land adjacent to the road. In the garden around the house they planted two roses brought from England, 'Captain Blood', and 'Devon Cream'.
By 1852, the Colletts were one of just six settler families living in Petone. They received an official Crown Grant for their land in 1853. They raised their ten children in the small timber dwelling and at some stage extended the verandah and added two large rooms to the ground floor of the original cottage. From 1887 Henry Collett began sub-dividing sections of the land around the cottage for his children. Eight years later, in 1895, the cottage was transferred to Collett's unmarried daughter Mary Jane Collett, who remained in the house until her death in 1917. The house was transferred to Mabel Jane Evans (nee Collett) who had celebrated her wedding in the house in 1901.
In 1945 the original floorboards of the cottage were replaced when guests celebrating the end of the Second World War at a victory party danced right through the floor. Mabel Evans remained in the house until 1948 when she moved into a small, self-contained flat on the property that had originally served as a garage. Doris and Robert Leslie, who were friends of the Colletts, moved into Collett House in the same year and added a then fashionable bungalow style roof to the cottage. Mabel Evans (nee Collett) moved into the Leslie's self-contained flat at number 34 Riddler's Crescent. The Leslies remained owners of the cottage until 1996, when the house was placed on the open market for the first time. The house has since been inhabited by a number of owners who have re-piled and renovated the cottage and the remnants of the original garden that remain around Collett House.
Collett House is historically significant as the oldest identified residential property in Petone. Constructed in the town selected as the site of the first New Zealand Company settlement, the cottage provides insight into early Pakeha settlement in New Zealand. The house retains some of its original character and is physically significant for the insight it provides into early colonial building techniques. The additions made to the building represent the changes prompted by the development Pakeha settlement and enhance its symbolic value. Collett House is in good condition and is held in high esteem by the local community.
